Game 3 of the second-round series between the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors saw key injuries for both teams’ starting big men. The Heat lost Hassan Whiteside in the first half to a knee injury, and shortly into the third quarter, Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto’s leading scorer with 16 points, rolled his right ankle landing after attempting to block a layup attempt by Dwyane Wade:
Jonas Valanciunas rolls ankle in Game 3 vs. Heat pic.twitter.com/S1HkTvUm8S
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) May 7, 2016
The Raptors ruled him out for the rest of the game.
The fact that the Raptors’ doctors didn’t perform an x-ray is encouraging, and hopefully this won’t be a long-term injury. Valanciunas has been the Raptors’ best offensive player so far in this series; without him, they’ll need the struggling Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan to step up.
